Raipur, Aug 19 (IANS) A group of nine Maoist militants Sunday opened fire in a weekly market in Bastar region of Chhattisgarh and shot dead a special police officer (SPO), officials said.
The attack took place at a rural market in Dantewada district’s Chindgarh locality, about 410 km south of capital Raipur.
“Nine Leftist radicals armed with self-loading rifles opened fire in the weekly market Sunday morning and shot SPO Karti Hunga in the head. He fell down in a pool of blood,” a police official told IANS by phone.
He added that the SPO, posted with a police station in Kukanar, succumbed to injuries within 20-25 minutes.
The Chhattisgarh government has recruited about 5,000 SPOs in Bastar region to assist the police force at local levels in anti-terror operations.